Circumcision Provides Little HIV Protection for Gays

Circumcision,
which has been shown to reduce heterosexual men's
risk of contracting HIV, does not have the same effect
for gays, a new study indicates.

Circumcised men
were 14% less likely to be infected with HIV than those
who were uncircumcised, according to a Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention study of more than 53,000 gay
and bisexual men in eight countries.

The study's
authors wrote that circumcision is "not statistically
significant" protection from HIV for men who have sex with
men. “Overall, we're not finding a protective
effect associated with circumcision for gay and
bisexual men,” the CDC's Gregorio A. Millett
said.

The full results
of the study appear in the October 8 Journal of the
American Medical Association. (Michelle Garcia,
The Advocate)